They do the same thing at our local lake. The only difference is there is a ranger perched up on the dam watching everyone anchored up in the cove, and radios to his other ranger buddies around the corner in the boat.

We got a pair of binoculars on the boat to check out the Eagles nest and other birds at the lake. After discovering how far you can see with a cheep pair I instantly figured out why the cop's could take advantage with a super nice pair. I have a pair of 10x45 Bushnell's I bought off C-list for $25 I did some experiments to try and see what I thought the cop's were looking at.

If your looking for Valid CF#'s that's a tough one. I had a hard time making out CF#'s and stickers. The location and angle of a Valid CF sticker is small and pretty hard to get if your not very still. If the boat is not completely sideways its Very hard if not impossible to see it. So The CF number excuse IMO is out.

If your looking for Drinking while Driving That might be a valid one. Unless the driver is just chugging down and you happend to be looking right at him it would be hard (but not Impossible to spot.) You would have to focus on one person or spot and just keep looking. BUT in California, open container for the driver is LEGAL . So looking for drinking and driving is valid but IMO not that effective.

I have heard that the cop's use binoculars to help them look for Impaired drivers, Hummm That's interesting. So the cop's are saying they use them to look in at you from over 1/2 mile away or longer to "see if your Impaired"

Now knowing what I know now from using Binoculars you would have to be looking at a subject for a extended period let's say for argument sake 3-5 min's or longer to come to some conclusion. So I can see them working in this situation if you were tied up or sitting still and they could let's call it Monitor you! yes I could see the binoculars working very well.

Heads up at Berryessa... Sitting on the houseboat roof last week and the sheriff was pulling people over so I grabbed our binoculars to see what was up. Looked like quick friendly safety checks, I am ok with that as most lake peeps are re-tards. But like ten minutes later I look at them again because they were just chillin' and low and behold he is looking right at me, binocs to binocs. So I wave. He waves. I laugh so hard I almost fall off the roof. So, heads up party people...

There are dozens of legitimate things that he could be doing. He could be counting occupants, looking for kids without vests, keeping an eye on a swimmer without a vest, looking for skier down flag, monitoring the scene at a party cove, keeping an eye on who is drinking and then later driving. Perhaps even looking for a set of bolt-ons.

You seem to imply that monitoring is some sort of invasion of privacy. Doesn't every peace officer do that all the time? They go to a setting where the law might be broken and run surveillance. You gotta look and understand the setting to determine if intervention is needed.

So I say look through those binoculars officer, look at whatever you want. And if you see boobs, do the right thing and point em out for us.

I don't think this is anything new. Asuming your pic is recent, it's just early in the season and there's not as many people out yet. Pretty soon he won't need binoculars because fools will be fools right in front of him.

Could also be monitoring a no wake zone, watching a raftup for idiots doing whatever, or at least in TX registration stickers are different colors for different years...don't need to see the #.

I hope it is boobs. Lake cops can be jerks but they also have to put up with tons of stupid stuff and people all day long. Having up to date stickers, proper safety equipment, not being that guy...all the low hanging fruit of being responsible.

This photo was taken in a 5mph zone at lake tulloch 2 weeks ago. You don't need binoculars to see Speeding its very easy to see the wake
Wash from a wake surf speed boat ect. It's a narrow long section. Most of the boats in this section of the lake are parked or drifting. So it's not like they are going any where fast and getting away from anyone. It's a slow time of year so it's not like they need to scan as many boats as they can cause they don't have the man power to look at each and everyone. I think they are using them to just peer in on you before they drive by you. IMO the cops don't NEED to be doing this. They do it because they can and they like someone above said "they have dozens of legitamate reasons why they can use them" and IMO it creates ill will between people and cops. I don't like the fact that Im being spyed on by Big Brother. I don't mind them doing their job to keep everyone safe. Another person said Low hanging fruit. I agree their is Enough obvious violations or people breaking the law that they don't need to be doing what they are doing.

If you think it's ok for them to sit and look at you from a distance so they can see how you are socializing SO they can prevent a crime that has not even happend. That seems like a pretty far stretch for me. What if every time you went to a bar or dinner you had the cops sitting outside looking at you the whole time. (So that they could make sure your not drinking and then gonna drive) Is that OK? Now lets try it with your wife and your daughters in bikinis. Is it still ok?

IMO if the cops want to PREVENT potential crimes all they need to do is have a presence. Simply driving around and keeping a eye in things & letting people know of their presence is a deterrent. I respect the cops and welcome their presence but I don't like the feeling of a invasion of privacy from the cops.

I'm not bragging, but the cops on our river are actually pretty cool. Most of them ride. The sherif has a VLX. I've never gotten a ticket, but I have been sent home for not enough CGA vests. They were cool about it.

Train: I would rather them drive around kind of like how land police operate. I think its quite effective for them to do lap's around party cove and other popular spots ect. this lets people know the cops are here and you better be on your best behavior. IMO its far more effective to be visible and out in the public eye then to be looking in from a distance. I would rather them pull up and say Hi then them stare in at you from 1/2 mile away then drive by like they don't know you. And for the record I think our guys are cool as well Im just now down eye in the sky big brother type of surveillance. in the end we all want the same thing. To enjoy the outdoors with friends and family safely.

And one more thing. I bet most of us boaters don't need Binoculars to spot the trouble makers or potential red flags.

Not sure how I would feel about this. To be honest no one really knows our bui laws in NC. I get conflicting stories. Our lake cops don't do much but check for vests, registration, extinguisher, etc. They roll through the cove and see us drinking but never make much of a fuss. I also feel that the cops around here feel out attitude more than anything. One thing I know is that if I have 8 people in the boat I'm getting pulled if they see us. The binoculars wouldn't bother me much unless they were just staring at skirt all day. On a side thought wouldn't you just stare at bunnies all day too?

Quote:

And one more thing. I bet most of us boaters don't need Binoculars to spot the trouble makers or potential red flags.

Our guys here are not what I would call "boaters". I had one swamp my boat at hyco lake hauling butt through a no wake. He apologized but it was obvious he was not a "boater"

I hate getting involved in these things but this is absurd. No one is being spied on or violated. You are in a public place with no expectation of privacy. That's like saying anyone in party cove is spying on your girl. REDICULOUS . You want privacy stay in your house that's one of the few places it exists.

According to Grants idea I shouldn't be allowed to use binocs to watch the drug tip, do surveillance on armed robbery crews, or monitor houses we are about to hit with a search warrant. That's an insane logic. You are on the public way you now have no privacy period.
If they are gathering info on boats who are drinking and saving that for later how is that bad in any sense? Rules on the water about boarding boats are much less restrictive than getting in your vehicle. You don't like it sell your rig

And who really cares if they have an occasional babe spotting. You're all telling me you all do nothing but work your entire 9 hr shift at whatever you do? I call bs. I guarantee you do some type of personal business during that time whether it be as small as sending a text , email, or taking a call. However when a coppur takes 5 mins to himself the public cries foul. Hell we cant even sit and eat lunch without stares. If you're in an area where you think the police should be chasing murderers and drug dealers all day you may want to move. Drunks are one of the leading causes of non medical related deaths each year. Quite frankly I have zero tolerance for them when operating 4000lb plus deadly weapons with no brakes. I have seen way to many children wiped out by morons. So any measure police can take to give them an advantage I am all for.

So spying with binocs is not okay, but profiling idiots n drunks is? That makes sense

Anybody think they are at a distance so they don't make people get all uptight and let them have a good time with some supervision from a distance on a slow day? I can tell you you can easily read reg numbers with a decent pair of binocs. You get what you pay for.

In AZ the Sheriff and the Forest Service regularly cruise the shore line in a pickup truck with binoculars. If you listen to the scanner you can hear them talking backing forth with the Sheriff at the office and those in boats. They routinely joke about the woman on the boats in addition to figuring out who they are going to ticket.

In AZ the Sheriff and the Forest Service regularly cruise the shore line in a pickup truck with binoculars. If you listen to the scanner you can hear them talking backing forth with the Sheriff at the office and those in boats. They routinely joke about the woman on the boats in addition to figuring out who they are going to ticket.

Which lake? What band are they using? CB or VHF? Id like to get a VHF and my HAM license this year.

checking registration stickers, making sure kids have vests on, and looking for people drinking alcohol..... That's how they do it at my lake.

Yep, same here... wish there was more of them out on the lakes, there already are enough crazies out there drinking and creating problems... I finally saw a Sheriff patrolling a local lake we visit last weekend and was pleasantly surprised. I am always amazed how many people don't have any idea of rules and regulations for boating...

There is a difference in watching someone that is already a suspect and just spying on individuals looking for someone to be suspicious of. While what that sherriff boat was doing may not have been technically wrong, as was said there are plenty of violations in plain sight to keep those guys busy enough. It's like those speed traps in places where it is difficult to maintain the posted speed limit without riding the brakes and perfectly safe to go a little faster. Just making a quick buck. There just isn't any justification for doing things that way. A cop can easily go out and write legitmate tickets all day long like shooting fish in a barrel. This type of behavior only reinforces the bad public image for LEOs shared by many.